Apparatus for molding and cooling soap



c. 0. Pm uP-sd APPARATUS'FOR MOLDING AND COOLING- SOAP.

APPLICATION FILED AE. 5 1921.

PatefltedSept, 27,1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

C. O. PHILLIPS.

APPARATUS FOR MOLDING AND COOLING SOAP. APPLICATION H'LED MAR. s, 1921.

1,391,974 v Pa nentedSept. 27,1921,

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

feed a Piazza v5 C. 0. PHILLIPS.

APPARATUS FOR MOLDING AND COOLING SOAP.

I APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5. I92I. 1,391,974.

Patnted Sept. 27, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3' C. 0. PHILLIPS.

APPARATUS FOR MOLDING AND COOLING SOAP.

APPLICATION men MAR. 5. 1921.

1,39 1,974, Patented Sept 27, 1921 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

*g QLAQ gig; Ji E': I 1 1 l 1 I I .11 W1 mvemtoz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CECIL 0. PHILLIPS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNQR TO THE AMERICAN COTTON OIL COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A C ORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

APPARATUS FOR MOLDING AND COOLING SOAP.

To all whom it may concern. I

Be it known that I, CECIL D.-'PHIL I1 S, a

citizen of the United States, residing at'New York, in the county of New York, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Mold ing and Cooling Soap; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention is an improvement in ap I paratus 'for molding and cooling soap, and relates -to that character of apparatus wherein the soap is forced 'into moldsmounted to move in an endless series past the feeding means'and past an ejecting means, and to be subjected to the action of a cooling liquid in its passage from the feeding means to the ejecting means, whereby to cool and solidify .the soap in a rapid and advantageousmanner. An object of the invention is to' provide in a machine of this character, means for cooling the soap by means of a stream of cooling liquid sprayed upon the molds, and

constantly changing, whereby to secure the greatest possible refrigerating action f the liquid at the temperature at which 1t s used, and without subjecting the soap to the d1- rect action of the cooling liquid.

Another object is to provide a form of mold which may be closed after the soap 1s fed thereinto, to protect the soapfrom the direct action'of the cooling liquid, and having mechanism in connection therewith for forcingthe charge of soap: into contact with every portion of the mold, whereby to ermit the soap to be molded into patterns, and to be compressed during the cooling and solidification thereof, to compensate for.

shrinkage, and to obtain cakes of soap of. uniform size.

Another object is to provide in such machines a mounting for the series of molds, and a feeding means so arranged with re-,. spect thereto, that during the forcing of the molten soap into the mold, the material will be moved bodily toward the feeding means whereby to obtain within the mold a definite charge of soap of compact and -homogeneous form, free from air bubbles and the like.

In the drawings: Figure 1- is a sectional elevatlon of one form of apparatus embodying the-invention,

1921. Serial No. 449,709.

FFig. 2 is a section on the line 22 of Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged detail sectional views, at the feeding means, and at the ejecting means respectively,

ig. 5 is a partial radial section showing the arrangement of the sprays for the cooling mechanism, -Fig. 6 is a plan view of a portion of the endless chain of cover plates,

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of said sections.

In the present embodiment of the invention the molds are carried by a drum secured to a-shaft 1, which is journaled in bearing brackets 2 on a suitable base 3. A hub 4.- is secured to the shaft intermediate the ends thereof, and radial spokes 5 extend from the hub and are connected with -a rim 6. Arms 7, extend outwardly from the op posite sides of the wheel, constitutedby the hub, the spokes and the rim, the said arms being connected with rings 8 secured to the o posite faces of" the rim, and each series 0 arms carries at its outer end a ring 9., The drum constituted by the Wheel, the arms 7 and the rings 8 and 9 carries two sets of molds, one set being arranged at each side.of the wheel. The molds 10 of each set are arranged in series of three each, and are carried by a rim 11, which in turn is carried by the rings 8 and 9.

Each mold has a movable bottom or piston 12 mounted therein, and each piston is connected to a cross-bar l3, .bymeans of a piston rod 14. A crossbar 13 is provided for each series of three molds, the said bars extending parallel with the shaft 1, and each crossbar is provided at each end with a roller 15. These rollers move in engagement with cam tracks, which are so arranged with respect to theshaft 1, that the movable bottoms or pistons will be moved radially. of the drum at predetermined mo- 'ments, for purposes. to be presently set being near 'the wheel 4-5-6, while the Specification oi Letters Patent. Patented Se t 2 7 192.1 Application fired March 5,

other is near the superstructure at the same side, and the rollers 15 run on the outer faces of the tracks. The tracks 18 and 19 are also sectional. and are supported in the same manner as the tracks 16 and 17. The sections of these tracks 18 and 19 are channel shaped, the channels of the sections facing each other, and the rollers 15 are re ceived within the channels. All of these cam tracks 16. 17, 18 and 19 are are shaped, and are so arranged that certain definite movements will be given to the movable bottoms or pistons as the rollers thereof move over the cam tracks. The tracks 19 ar so. arranged that the movable bottoms will be pushed abrupting outward, as the rollers 15 leave the cam track 16,and before said rollers reach the cam track 17. The cam track 16 may be concentric, to hold the bottoms or pistons in one position, and they may if desired. be so arranged that the bottoms will be moved outwardly slightly during the travel of the molds past such track, whereby to compensate for shrinkage of the solidifying soap, and to impart a slight compression thereto. The cam track 17 is so arranged that the movable bottoms will be held in the position into which they are moved by the cam track 19, until the molds reach the feeding means. That end of the track 18 adjacent to the track 17 is connected thereto by a species of switch 22, so arranged that the movable bottoms of the molds will be moved abruptly inward as they pass from the track 17 to the track 18. This switch is formed by inner and outer plates, which are supported by a bracket 23 similar to the bracket 21 beforementioned. At the point where the rollers 15 pass from the track 18 to the cam track 16, there is provided a guard rail 24,

and the rollers 15 move on the inner side of this guard rail. A similar guard rail 25 is provided at that end of the track 16 adjacent to the cam track 19. This rail prevents outward movement of the pistons or movable bottoms, as the cover plates for the molds, to be later described, leave the molds.

Above the drum which carries the molds, and to each side of the vertical plane through the shaft 1, are the soap containers 26, the said containers having a steam or hot water jacket 27 for maintaining the soap at the proper temperature. Each soap container is supported in fixed position, and it has three fillingcompartments, the said compartments corresponding in number to the molds of a series. A filling screw 28 is arranged in each compartment, and each screw is operated by suitable means (not shown). The soap container is extended rearwardly as shown at 29, so that two sets of molds may be in position to receive soap at the same time, and the steam jacket is extended forwardly as indicated at 30, the

bottoms of the extension serving as a closure for the molds immediately after they leave the soap container, and before they reach the pointwhere the cover plates are applied to the mold. Just after the molds pass out from beneath the extension 30 of the jacket, the outer open ends of the molds are closed by cover plates to be presently described. The arrangement of the tracks 16, 17, 18 and 19 as a whole is such as to impart to the pistons during a complete rotation of the drum, movement as follows. After the molds are filled with soap the movable bottoms are held in their innermost position, until the cover-plates have been positioned over the outer ends of the molds. Then the movable pistons are moved out ward,as shown in Fig. 3, that end of the track 16 adjacent to the track 18 being arranged to impart such movement to the pistons. The pistons may be held in such position during the cooling and solidification of the soap, but they may be moved very slightly outward by the hack 16, in order to compensate for shrinkage during cooling,

and also to compress the soap. Just after the cover plates lift from off the molds, which is just before :the molds reach the ejecting mechanism, to be described, the pistons or movable bottoms are moved outwardly by the track 19, until such bottoms are substantially flush with the peripheral surface of the drum. They are held in this position by, the track 17, until they again reach filling position. when the cycle of movement is repeated.

The cover plates are supported for movement in an endless chain or belt. In the present instance two of such chains or belts are provided, one being provided for each set of molds, and the belts are arranged at opposite sides of the wheel.456. Each chain is composed of a series of plates 31, of a length to extend between the rings 8 and 9, and the plates have alined bearings 32 at their opposite side edges. The bearings at each side edge are spaced apart, and are staggered with respect to the bearings at the opposite side edge. The arrangement is such that the bearings of adjacent plates are received between each other, and are hinged together by means of pintle pins or rods 33. Each of these rods is extended beyond the ends of the plates, and flanged wheels 3 are journaled on the extended ends. the wheels, and each plate 31 has outwardly ofiset portions or patterns 36 which correspond to the position of the molds, registering with the molds of a set. In the present instance the molds are circular in crosssection, and the patterns 36 are merely cavities, but it is obvious that such patterns might be of any desired character, and the molds might be of any desired cross-section.

Links 35 connect the rods outside of The movable bottoms or pistons 12- are in effect patterns, 'being concave in the present instance,- so that when the soap is compressed between the cover plates and the movable bottoms, both faces of the cake will push them onto the carrier. As shown this beimpressed with the pattern.

Each endless chain or belt of cover plates, is supported by pairs of sprocket wheels 37. Each pair of wheels is secured to a shaft 38 arranged adjacent to the drum, and referring more especially to F i'gs. 3 and 4 it will be noticed that these sprocket wheels are deeply notched to receive the flanged wheels 34. Three pairs of wheels 37 are provided. One pair is arranged adjacent to the soap container, anotherpair isarranged adjacent to the ejecting mechanism, and the third pair is arranged between the first mentioned pairs. The arrangement of-the shafts 38 is such that one run of the'belt moves in contact with the periphery of the drum, for more than 180 of such periphery, and mechanismis provided for constraining the cover plates to engage the molds in a certain predetermined position, and to constrain said .plates to travel with the molds in such position. The said mechanism is in the formof fork shaped brackets 39. The bodies of these brackets are secured to the rings 8 and 9, and the arms of the brackets are offset outwardly from the bodies, as shown in Fig. 3.. The recess between the arms is roundedto fit the flanged wheels 34, and since the bracketsare arranged in ade-finite predetermined manner with respect to the molds, it will beobvious that the cover plates must always engage the molds in a certain relation, and travel with them'in such relation. In order to tension the endless belt of cover plates, one of the shafts 38, preferably the intermediate 'shaft, is made adjustable toward and from the drum. The shaft is journaled in bearings 40, which are mounted to slide on guides 41, and the bearings are moved by meansof screws 42.

-T ese screws arerotatably connected with the bearings, and are threaded-through lugs m the slides.

The shaft 1 is rotated from a suitable source of power, by means of a belt or the like, which engages a pulley 43 on .a shaft 44 journaled transversely of the shaft 1, at one end thereof. The shaft 44 has a worm 45 which engages aworm wheel 46 on the shaft 1. The screws 28 which force .the. molteir soap into the molds are driven from this shaft 44, through a vertical shaft 47, which is connected to the shaft'44 by a bevel gearing 48. The shaft 44 also drives an endless carrier or conveyer 49, onto which the cakes of soap are ejected from the molds of the drum. This belt is supported by wheels, one

of which is shown at 50, just beyond that end of the cover plate belt which is remote from the feeding mechanism. When the stick to the pistons or movable movable bottoms are forced outwardly by the cam track section 19, the cakes of soap are forced out of the molds. Should they will be. struck by an ejector 51, which will e ector isa bar extending transversely of the periphery of the drum, and having a buffer 52 of cushioning material on that face which engages the cakes of soap. The carrler 49 is an endless belt having transverse slats or vanes 53 which engage behind the and solidify the soap, being protected from direct contact with the cooling liquid. With this arrangement, the molds are submerged for a length of time in the cooling liquid, and it is difficult to obtain a closure of the type desired, that will be impervious to the coolin solution. Furthermore, the body of the so ution held in the tank must be frequently changed, or constantly renewed, in order to secure uniform cooling and solidification, since it tends to heat rapidly because of the continual passage of masses of heated soap therethrough. In order to overcome these objections, I provide means for subjecting the molds to a constantly changmg stream of cooling liquid, sprayed upon the molds from every side, contacting with the molds briefly, and I am able to obtain by this means, uniform cooling and solidification, and with a minimum ofdirect contact between the soap and the cooling solution. To obtain such cooling, I provide spray pipes 54 and55. These spraypipes are arched longitudinally on radii whose center is the shaft 1, and they are perforated on the side adjacent to .the molds. The pipes 54 are arranged outside the drum, while the pipes 55 are arranged within the drum, and the perforations are directed toward the molds and the cover plates as shown in Fig. 5. Thus the exterior of each mold is subjected to a stream or spray of constantly changing cooling liquid and the soap is thoroughly cooled, out of direct contact with the liquid. Those portions of the endless belts of cover plates remote -from the drum which are between the shaft 38 adjacent to the ejecting mechanism and the shaft. 38 which carries the intermediate sprockets 37 are guided by guide rails 56 and 57. The wheels 34 run on these guide rails, the rail 56 being engaged by the innermost wheels of the two belts, and the rails are supported by crossbars 58, whichv bottoms, the

' of the drum, until the molds reach ranged below the drum, for receiving the cooling liquid discharged by the spray pipes, ind delivering such liquid to a suitable place of discharge.

After the cakes of soap have been ejected from the molds, the movable bottoms are held substai'itially flush with the periphery the ex tension 25) of the soap container. Just be fore they reach such extension, they pass beneath a scraper (31, which is in the form of a plate, pivoted intermediate its ends as at (52, and normally pressed toward the pe riphery of the drum by a coil spring 63. This scraper removes any soap that may adhere to the periphery of the drum, and such soap is deflected into a pan (5* supported adjacent to the drum, by means of a guide plate 65. Mechanism is also provided for cleaning the recesses of the mo 'able bottoms, and for more thoroughly cleaning the periphery of the drum. Such mechanism is in the form of a cylindrical brush (36 journaled to rotate on an axis parallel with the shaft 1, and driven in any suitable manner, as for instance by a belt 67. The bristles of this brush move in contact with the drum periphery, and the upper faces ofthe movable'bottoms, and remove any soap that may adhere to such bottoms and to the drum periphery. This soap is deflected into a pan (38 supported below the brush, by means of a guide plate (59. Mechanism is also provided for cleaning the inner faces of the cover plates, before they engage the molds. Such mechanism is in the form of a cylindrical brush 70, similar to the brush 66, and similarly mounted. This brush is arranged just above the'sprocket wheels 37, which are adjacent to the soap container, and the bristles of the brush engage those faces of the cover plates which contact with the soap. The soap removed by the brush is deflected into a pan 71, by a deflecting plate 72. In order to catch any soap that may escape. between the soap container and the molds duringthe filling thereof, a pan 73 is arranged within the drum, below the soap container. The soap may be removedfrom the pans 64:, 68, 71, and 73 in any suitable manner; and returned to the soap containers.

Referring to Fig. 2 it will be noted that a soap container is provided at each side of the wheel el 5(3, and that the arrangement of the cam tracks 161'T-1819, as well as of the drip pans and the spray pipes, is duplicated at the opposite sides of the wheel 4143-63. \Vith this arrangement, the said mechanisms may be supported from the superstructure at each side, andextend into the drum, without interfering with the rotatiorr thereof;

The operation of the machine as a whole is as follows:

When the shaft. 1 is rotated, the molds are mold.

brought in succession pastthe soap container. Referring to Fig. it will be seen that the soap container is arranged laterally with respect to the vertical plane through the shaft 1, and upon that side. of the said plane where the molds are moving upward when the shaft rotates. Thus each mold, and each series of molds, moves, with respect to the soap container, not only past the soap container, but bodily toward the soap container. while soap is being forced thereinto by the feed screws. At the same moment when the soap is being forced in the mold by the combined action of the screws, and the bodily movement of the mold toward thescrews, the movable bottoms of the molds are withdl'awn, or moved radially inward, so that the soap is fed to the molds, in a compact homogeneous mass, free from air .bubbles, and in a mass of uniform density.

As the molds pass beneath the extension 30 of the steam jacket of the soap container, those portions of the soap within the molds are separated from the soap within the container, by the side wall of the container, and the soap remaining within the molds is flush with the periphery of the drum. Just after the molds pass away from the extension 30, the cover plates 31 engage the drum, and because of the interlocking engagement between the druin and the endless belt of cover plates, each cover plate engages the molds in a predetermined position. and travels with the molds in such position until it is removed therefrom. Since the cover plates carry a pattern, and "nee such pattern is concave toward the mold, it is necessary in order to cause the soap to fill every portion of the mold and pattern, that the body of soap in the mold be moved toward the cover plate or pattern, since the cover plate cannot move toward the movable bottom of the Hence the cam track 16 at the end adjacent to the track inward, as shown at 74. Vhen the rollers 15 pass from the track 18 on to this portion Tl of the track 16, the movable bottoms are moved abruptly outward, compressing the charge of soap in the mold, and forcing the soap into the pattern.v As the molds move forward, they are sprayed by means of the pipes 54 and 55, with a cooling for instance brine. This liquid is continu-. ally changing, so that the soap in the molds is subjected to a cooling liquid of a substantially uniform temperature throughout its travel from the feeding mechanism to the ejecting mechanism, but out of direct contact with such cooling liquid. The excess liquid falls into the tank, from which it may be removed to be cooled and again sprayed upon the molds. Adjacent to the ejecting mechanism, the cover plates pass out of engagement with the molds, and somewhat later the movable bottoms are forced out- 18 has an abrupt bend liquid, as j ward by the ca m track 19, and the molded cakes of soap are deposited onto the vanes 53 of the conveyer, which removesthem from the machine. Any cakes of soap that might stick to the movable bottoms, will be dislodged byvthe stop 51. The periphery of the drum is now cleaned by the scraper, and the movable bottoms are cleaned by the brush, after which the cycle is repeated. The cover plates are also cleaned, just before they engage the molds.- With the improved machine, the soapmay be cooled-and solidified in a very short length of time, and may be molded into any desired shape. While the apparatus illustrated and described has three series of molds at each side of the Wheel, it will be understood that the apparatus can be constructed and operated in asimilar manner with a larger orsmaller number of series. 20 So, also, the specific construction illustrated.

and described can be varied without departure from the spirit andscopeof the invention.

I claim.

.1. In a soap machine, a series of molds, means for moving the molds over a continuous path in succession, feeding means adjacent to such path for forcing molten soap into the molds as they pass the feeding means, means for ejecting the soap from the molds, cover plates for the molds, means for mounting the plates to'move along a path adja- 1' cent to that traveled by the molds between the feeding means and the ejecting, means, and in contact with the molds, interlocking means for constraining the plates to engage the molds in a predetermined relation and to travel withthe molds in such relation, and means for spraying the molds and cover plates with a cooling liquid as they travel together. 1

2. In a soap machine, a series ofmolds, means for moving the molds over a continuous path in succession, feeding means adjacent to such path for forcing molten soap into the molds as they pass the feeding means, means for ejecting the soap from'the molds, cover plates for the molds, means for mounting the plates to move along a path adjacent to that traveled by the molds between the feeding means and the ejecting means, and in contact with the molds, interlocking means for constraining the plates to engage the molds in a predetermined relation and to travel with the molds-in such relation, and means for spraying themolds 1 and cover plates with a cooling liquid as they travel together, the -moving. means for the molds being so arranged with respect to the feeding means that the moldsmove bodily toward the feeding means as a charge is forced thereinto.

3. In a soap machine, a series of molds, means for moving the molds over a continu- 65 ous path in succession, feeding means adjacent to such path for forcing molten soap into the, molds as they pass the feeding means, means for ejecting the/soap from the molds, cover plates for the molds, means for mounting the plates to move along a path adjacent to that traveled by the molds between the feeding means and the ejecting means, and in contact with the molds, interlocking means for constraining the plates to engage the molds in a predeterminedrelation and to travel with the molds in such relation, and means for spraying the molds and cover plates with a cooling liquid as they travel together, the cover plates being recessed on their inner faces, and means for moving the bottoms of the molds toward the cover plates as said plates engage the molds to cause the soap within the mold to fill the IGCESS.

the molds after leaving the feeding means,

each plate having the face adjacent to the mold provided with a pattern to be formed upon the cake of soap, interlocking mechanism between the molds and the cbver plates for constraining said plates to engage the molds in a predetermined relation and to travel with the molds through a selected distance in such relation, and means in con nection with each mold for compressing the soap in the mold to fillthe pattern-of the cover plate. 3

5. In a soap machine, a series of molds, means for moving the molds over an endless path, means for forcing soap into the molds, a. series of cover plates, mounted to move along a path adjacent to that traveled by the molds after leaving the feeding means,

'eachplate having the face adjacent to the mold provided with a pattern to be formed upon the cake of soap, interlocking mechanism'between the molds and the cover plates for constrainingsaid plates to engage the molds ina. predetermined relation and to travel with the molds thrgough a selected distance in such relation, and means in connection with each mold for compressing the soap in the mold to fill the pattern of the coverplate, said means .comppising movable bottoms for the molds, and means for forcing the bottoms toward the cover plates as said plates engage the mold sky 6. In a soap machie-qiiarseries of molds,

a container for moltensoap, means for forcing soap into them oldsf'means for moving the molds in succession/past the container and bodily toward the forcing means while the soap is being forcw into the molds, cover plates for closing the'molds' and mounted to move with the molds, said molds having movable bottoms, and'means for moving the bottoms toward the cover plates after the cover plates have engaged the molds.

7. In a soap machine, a series of molds, a container for molten soap, means for forcing soap into the molds, means for moving the molds in succession past the container and bodily toward the forcing means While the soap is being forced into the molds, cover plates for closing the molds and mounted to move with the molds, said molds having movable bottoms, and means for moving the bottoms toward the cover plates after the cover plates have engaged the molds, and means for spraying a cooling liquid onto the molds and the cover plates to cool and solidify the soap.

8. In a soap machine, a series of molds,

a container for molten soap, means for forcing soap into the molds, means for moying the molds in succession past the container and bodily toward the forcing means while the soap is being forced into the molds, cover plates for closing the molds and mounted to move with the molds, said molds having movable bottoms, and means for moving the bottoms toward the cover plates after the cover plates have engaged the molds, means for cooling and solidifying the soap in the molds, means for movingthe movable bottoms outward after the soap has been cooled to eject the soap, and a stop for engagement by cakes of soap to dislodge them from themovable bottoms.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CECIL O. PHILLIPS. 

